Monday, 22 April 2013

Cybercandy | Part One

Somebody was obviously discontented with the array of British chocolates, cookies, candy and cereal, and felt that the five million aisles of sweet items in British supermarkets weren't enough, so they opened Cybercandy, which imports soda, sweets, chocolate and cereal from the USA, Japan, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Singapore, and other parts of Europe, and sells them for a doubled price.

Lo and behold, a product name which implies a marshmallow filling, containing a description which promises a whipped 'creme' center. Seems like they can't make up their mind on what the mysterious white fluff in their own product is.

And neither can I. It's sort of like a tasteless white mousse similar to the insides of a melted marshmallow. Sounds appealing to some but is really nothing special at all.

The difference between this peanut butter cup (£1.15) and a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup is the butterscotch-flavoured coating, instead of the usual milk chocolate. Butterscotch is not as prominent of a flavour as chocolate, and when paired with peanut butter, just causes a confusion on your tongue. After having Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, it is just not the same when having this peanut butter cup coated with butterscotch. Your tastebuds will be wondering where that familiar chocolate and peanut butter flavour-pairing is, and what the hell is this butterscotch doing. It doesn't even go here.

On the flip side, this was a purchase which I fairly enjoyed. (£1.39) The, uh, 'King size' pack boasts three peanut butter cups, each with a different topping, namely a chocolate chip cookie, M&Ms, and a chocolate sandwich cookie.

They look absolutely tempting and adorable when opened. The toppings have held well and nothing has crumbled or fallen off.

The cookie is stuck fast to the peanut butter cup, and the entire treat looks precious. The peanut butter filling, unlike the crumbly texture of the one in Reese's, is creamy and smooth. I personally prefer the crumbly version, because it stands out from the already-smooth chocolate. I guess, in this case, it coordinates well with the crunchy cookie atop the buttercup.

The peanut butter cup with M&Ms is a colourful piece of bite-sized joy which you can hold between your fingers. I like this one – the crunchy M&Ms contrast well with the soft chocolate and peanut butter.

Even though these are not Oreo, I'm glad that the chocolate sandwich cookies are from Famous Amos, and are not some ridiculous own-brand with tastelessly patterned grooves called 'Poreo' or something.

These peanut butter cups are simply delightful to look at, and make great gifts for friends or children – they're all the same kind of people when it comes to chocolates. However, if you want a peanut butter cup for yourself, I'd much rather buy it from Reese's and slam an Oreo cookie atop it – there is nothing spectacular in terms of taste, here.